From Blog – Bujinkan Kokusai Renkoumyo 武神館國際連光明道場 by bkronline
In search of the history of the Togakure Ryu
I definitely do not want to cause an issue with anyone regarding the cover of the book. In fact, the picture that was up was just a temporary one. The final cover is a surprise as I have been given the approval to include photographs of Hatsumi Sensei and the Shihan from the 1960’s that have never been published before. They are from the collection of Anthony Netzler and Steve Tansley. I owe them some big thanks. The pictures were taken for the book on the ninja by Andrew Adams (1970). Steve Tansley’s father was the photographer to that project and left Steve and Anthony with a beautiful collection of never before seen photographs. I will include a few of the best and hopefully one will don the cover.
The previous photo, the “Kama Mon” is the symbol of the divine at Suwa Shrine (諏訪神社) in Shinshu. It is the symbol of the “Bujin” (武神) enshrined at Suwa. Yes, the same “Bujin” as in the Bujinkan. Due to the close proximity and tribal relationships, the shrine at Togakushi where our Togakure Ryu comes from also uses the “Kama Mon” as its shrines symbol. The “kama” or a sickle is a farmers tool that held high spiritual importance in the rice-based communities. Once the harvest was over each year, the Togakushi region would hold “kama” festivals 「鎌祝い」, to celebrate and give thanks to the shrine’s deities for a good harvest and to pray for another next year.
Also, please enjoy my clip from yesterday’s Taijutsu session
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